You should be assured that it would be almost impossible for you to do anything in a BOC liturgy which would be considered 'breaking the rules', not because we do not have spiritual customs and practices which have meaning to us, but because as a guest you would always be given the space to be yourself as you came to understand how we worship and what we believe.

Email me your postal address and I'll try to make sure that some materials get sent out to you in the next day or so. It seems that there has been a problem with some of the mail forms on our website which I am trying to fix.

Whilst Peter sorts out the glitches, let me join him in welcoming you to this forum. It is a pleasure to have you here, and I hope you will fell able to join us in whatever way you want.

I don't know whether you would feel comfortable telling us something about your journey thus far; it would be fascinating to know what brought you here. You'll see from previous threads that there is a whole diversity of ways in which we arrived here - but just one main reason - the search for a Church in which the fulness of the Faith is to be found.

Again, welcome here.

In Christ,

John

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)

I started life in the Baptist Church, and came from a religious family, my great-grandfather being a methodist preacher and my father a baptist lay preacher.

I always went to Sunday School every week as my mother ran the Beginners pre-school class.

I was never comfortable though and was always searching.

I had a protracted stay in Israel where I visited several Orthodox churches and monastries. Without being able to understand a word of what was being said, I felt at home and for the first time felt comfortable.

Since then no church has lived up to the mark and I have exhausted all possibilities. I feel drawn to the icons used by Orthodox Christians and enjoy the peace that praying several times from a strict format gives me - a reassurance that I am not doing it wrong. There is something pure about the Orthodox Church - untampered with and original as it was in the beginning. I like this.

I have been to a Catholic church but cannot accept some of their core beliefs and feel comfortable about the Orthodox way.

Thank you so much for telling us something about your background. My eldest son is a Baptist pastor, and his twin brother also veers towards that end of the ecclesiastical spectrum, although they were both brought up as Anglicans; do I mean 'although' or 'because' I wonder?

I know what you mean about the Catholic Church; it is hard to put into words, and so I tend to talk about the parts of its doctrine that are novel, but there is something else there too; but I admire its witness to the world greatly, even though I could not follow two of my friends into it.

You have clearly already done the first thing that one gets told by the Orthodox- that is to experience the worship. The BOC offers Orthodoxy with an ethos that is British, and a Liturgy in English. I have enjoyed it when I have been to Coptic services, but it is good to be able to follow things properly, and the Liturgy of St. James is wonderful; I find it hard to see how I got on without it all those years!

You have clearly been guided towards the Orthodox path. We, as you have already discovered, are a small and somewhat scattered community, but the Lord works His will, and we follow. Some Eastern Orthodox are welcoming, others not, so if it transpires that your nearest Orthodox Church is EO, I hope it will be an eirenic one.

One of the great things about this site is that it is for the fellowship, many of whom are as you are, and I was, searching for information and dialogue; I hope that we can be of use to you in any way you need; my prayers, and I am sure those of others, are with you.

In Christ,

John

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)

I hope it's alright to post here as a way of introduction - I have just signed up to the Fellowship/forum on my third approach...

Just on practical matters - is there a way to purchase the prayer/introduction books other than the web site I was directed to? I didn't quite manage it - this was much more likely to be me than it! But I'd prefer to send a cheque somewhere.
Also, about a year ago and in late spring this year I sent off for the free prayer leaflet that is mentioned on the web site, but nothing arrived...I pondered whether this was providential or a test - as I've come back for a third try I take it to be the latter!

I've been attracted to Orthodoxy on and off for decades - I've looked in the front of my copy of "The Orthodox Way" (Fr Kallistos Ware) to see that I purchased it in 1984. I had a few days at Walsingham earlier this year where I lingered in the Orthodox churches/chapels and was priviledged to attend prayers several times at St Seraphim's chapel - the old railway station. This affected me profoundly - I still feel the benefit.

I've just viewed my message - it says I joined in September 2006...? I admit to being confused! I may well have viewed the general BOC web site then, but I'm sure as I can be with a distinctly middle aged memory that I've never joined or posted to the forum before. Apologies for any muddles that this creates/perpetuates!